


Just ease into it

by Roxpop



Category: Homestuck
Genre: ABDL, Age Regression/De-Aging, Also dirk is a little asshole, Diapers, Hal sucks at being a cg but he tries, Infantilism, Omorashi, i'm bad at tags and all that shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:53:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23798776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxpop/pseuds/Roxpop
Summary: Dirk Strider is known for having bouts of complete lack of motivation to work or take care of himself, and Hal decides he should help using the knowledge he has of his little secret.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

It was almost sunset, and Dirk hadn’t even put in the effort to open up his laptop to do any of the work he had to make up. He knew his classes weren’t going to wait around for him to get off his ass and quit laying around all day, but he just couldn’t find the energy to even lift a finger. Lethargic; not quite enough to justify a nap, but not enough energy to do much other than breathe and scroll through his phone all day. 

He only ever looked up when he thought he heard someone come home, which wasn’t even a possibility now that the other Striders were all home. It wasn’t until Hal was looming over him did he seem to focus his attention even a little bit.

“Dude. Have you gotten up at  _ all _ today?” He asked, “I haven’t even heard you speak today.”

Dirk shrugged in response before laying his head back down and pulling a blanket over himself. He really wasn’t feeling like being berated for being a lazy ass all day, especially by Hal of all people. To his surprise, though, Hal sat right down next to him on the couch instead. 

“Rough week?” he asked.

Dirk only grumbled in response. He hadn’t really had much time to have the house to himself as of late, which meant he didn’t exactly have time to unwind- at least in the ways he wanted to. There was no way in hell he was letting Dave or Hal even get a hint that he was an age regressor, especially because of the fact he was supposed to be the cool  _ older _ brother; he was supposed to take care of them, not the other way around. It was lonely, being little all by himself, but he’d rather crawl under a rock and shrivel up rather than be so vulnerable in front of other people. However, he always wondered if Hal was capable of the same experiences, or at the very least had the same interest in it as he did.

Dirk’s drifting thoughts were interrupted with a small nudge from Hal. 

“Hey, did you hear what I asked?”

Dirk looked up with groggy eyes and a somewhat annoyed face.

“I guess. Why are you of all people concerned?”

Hal gave a similarly annoyed look back.

“Is it a crime for me to want to make sure you’re happy, asshole?”

“Yeah, punishable by having your consciousness transferred to a roomba again.” Dirk snapped back. It was hard to tell if he was actually joking or not, considering his rather unamused look on his face.

“Dirk, have you been taking your antidepressants? I’m just saying because you’re so sluggish and irrita-”

“Oh my god, could you get off my ass?”

Dirk groaned as he turned on his side to face the back of the couch.

“No, I’m not getting off your ass, in fact I’m going to stay directly on your ass all fucking night-”

“Phrasing.”

“Shut it. I’m taking care of you tonight since you obviously don’t have any intention of doing so yourself, and if that means I have to be fussy, then so be it.”

Dirk paused for a moment, before rationalizing that Hal could never mean it in the context that first popped into his mind.

“I’m an adult, I can take care of my own damn self.”

Hal crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at that, staring at Dirk.

“You sure about that?” He said with a smugness to his voice.

Dirk sat up, a bit surprised at the retort, and a bit anxious to confirm what he already suspected. 

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

“You already know what it’s supposed to mean.”

Dirk’s face flushed ever so slightly at the insinuation that Hal knew, his heart seemingly climbing out of his throat at the matter. 

“Jesus, look at you, you’re a mess. I don’t think you’re in any shape to be taking care of yourself,” Hal continued. For a moment Dirk almost found relief in him saying that, rather than going down the path he thought it would go down, until Hal opened his mouth again. “Unless you thought I was referring to the ‘adult’ part. Which, you also need to second guess yourself in that regard. Dirk, you do realize I can still hear what you do, even if you hide the shades away in your drawer, right? Plus, you aren’t the best at remembering to put the spare away when you’re too preoccupied with coloring and watching your technicolor ponies.”

Dirk froze up, he didn’t know what to say, and frankly he didn’t know if he wanted to actually say anything. He was completely tongue tied with what felt like wasps in his stomach rather than nervous butterflies. He only tensed up more when Hal tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but instead opted out to put the blanket over his shoulders.

“Listen,” Hal started, “There is no way in any reasonable sense I’d genuinely make fun of you for this, and if you don’t want me telling Dave, I won’t. The fact of the matter is though is that you’re incredibly shit at self care, and you need someone else to do it for you, which is why I’m taking care of you myself, as ironic as it is considering I technically am a splinter of you.”

“I-” Before Dirk could even speak, he already had his pacifier placed in his mouth. Ugh, Hal was going through his shit to find this. He spit it back out almost immediately, trying to ignore how hot his face felt. “First of all, you never saw jack shit and I will personally go into your memory and wipe all of anything you thought you saw, and second of all, don’t start trying to act all like you know me in and out, motherfu-”

Dirk grumbled as Hal put the pacifier back in, pulling him into his lap. “Watch your language.”

At first, Dirk was resistant, squirming out of Hal’s grip just to be pulled back again, but Hal knew he wasn’t the type that was actually uncomfortable with copious physical contact, hell, he was more inclined to be clingy. He knew that not wanting to admit something was a big flaw of Dirk’s, but that wasn’t going to stop him from helping him relax and let go a little, or at the very least to meet his basic needs. Though, he did have a little hope of the former when he saw Dirk unable to resist the urge to suckle, even if it was only a little. Plus, he wasn’t spitting it out this time!

Dirk felt shaky and weak as he was forced to sit up, probably because he hadn’t eaten much today, or to be frank, yesterday either. He’d mostly been snacking on chips every now and again, and he was starting to realize why it was such a horrible idea to go back to his minimal diet he had while in post-apocalyptic Houston, and the grumbling of his stomach didn’t help him trying to hide the fact that he was practically starving.

“Looks like someone’s hungry,” Hal said, smirking. “You can have a snack while I get dinner ready.”

Hal stood up, walked over to the pantry and tossed Dirk a pack of crackers before making his way to the kitchen. Dirk grumbled, laying back down, spitting out the pacifier when Hal wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Today was gonna be a long fuckin’ day, wasn’t it?


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh sure, and I’m not a robot.”

Hal’s antics were starting to annoy Dirk rather than be charming. There was something about the way he was so sure of himself and the way he actually was right in a way. He  _ did _ need to eat and he hated that Hal was right. It didn't make him any more open to eating the snack Hal got out for him.

Hal closed the fridge and looked over to Dirk in the living room. “Would you rather have something to drink?”

“If you’re talkin’ about apple juice, no. However, if we’re talkin’ Jack Daniels…”

“Do you really think I’d let a little kid have alcohol? And on an empty stomach no less.”

“I’m not some toddler, Hal!”

“I didn’t say you were, I said you were a little kid. A little kid who hasn’t had a proper meal in about 19 hours and 34 minutes. Now, if you’d rather be treated in a more infantile sense, then I can do that for you, but you should really have a solid meal beforehand. Milk only does so much for sustenance. Not to mention, you shouldn’t drink too much or else you’ll have an accident.”

“Ha ha, very fucking funny, Hal.”

Hal came back over to Dirk with a juice box in hand, opening it for him.

“Again, language. Are you not going to play along with this? If not, I’m still going to force you to eat, and I’m not going to give you the luxury of doing everything for you if you don’t want to do this.” Hal said as he shoved the juice box into his hand. “I don’t mind if you want to unwind by yourself, but at least try to act nicely since I’m making you dinner.”

Dirk went silent for a moment, rolling his eyes. He did always want somebody to take care of him, but, to put it lightly, he wouldn’t trust Hal to take care of a cactus made of plastic. He couldn’t finish his thought process before Hal started walking back to the kitchen.

“I’ll take that as unwilling. Dinner’s already in the oven, so don’t complain about having finger food. It’s a bit humbling to suppose my calculations were wrong for once; I was so sure that you’d so desperately want to let yourself go, to finally relax after such a taxing day of feeling like complete and utter shit. It seems I forgot to take into account your much more abundant inhibitions than mine. Not to mention you must still be stressed about your work. I finished it for you, by the way. You’re welcome.”

Hal stood in the doorway, talking to Dirk who was completely straight-faced, though there was a hint of disgruntledness. “I know you don’t like me, Dirk, and I know it’s nobody’s fault but your own self loathing, but I feel like you should know that I don’t do these things just to mess with you. I know it’s been stressful with school and not getting to see our older brother often, not to mention- Oh.”

Dirk tensed up. He missed his brother and Hal knew that. He was barely ever home, but when he was, he’d do just what Hal was doing, making sure he ate, gently scolding him for being lazy, saving his ass one too many times with deadlines… 

“It seems I’ve gone too far in mentioning him. I apologize.”

Just as Hal was about to go back into the kitchen with an ever so slightly guilty expression, Dirk spoke up with an uneven voice.

“You’re fine. I don’t mind. You just. Uh.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know how I feel about the fact that you remind me of him.”

“It’s because we both care about you, Dirk.”

Dirk looked down at the snack Hal had got him. He still hadn’t even opened it, he was hungry- starving, even- but his appetite was next to none. Hal just wanted what was best for him, and he was being ungrateful. The more and more days that went on as Hal became his own person, the more he saw his bro in him, and he felt a heavy guilt in his stomach for ever even comparing a splinter of himself to his bro, his  _ idol _ .

“I’m sorry, big bro…”

Fuck, did he just let that slip? By the little unsure smile on Hal’s face, he could tell that  _ yeah, he did _ . Instead of teasing, though, came Hal coming up to him, getting on his knee and giving him what was probably the softest, most adoring look he’s ever seen him have.

“What’s there to be sorry about?” He asked in a much more tender tone than his usual cold and calculating voice.

“I-...I’m being difficult…”

Hal cupped Dirk’s face in his hand. This was…new. It felt warm and soft, like anyone else’s hand, despite it being made of metal.

“I’m well acquainted with your stubbornness. It’s not exactly a revelation that you’re not the most willing to show any weakness. Both you and Dave seem to have that problem.”

Dirk felt guilty when he said that, he didn’t want to make things hard for Hal, and he especially regretted snapping at him earlier. He didn’t want to be a bad boy for Hal. He didn’t want Hal to regret this and criticize him for this for the rest of his life.

“Now, what’s that face for?” Hal asked, taking Dirk’s free hand. “It’s okay, Dirk, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m bein’ bad…” Dirk replied in an almost pitiful voice. It was subtle, but Hal could tell the difference in his tone. It was tinged with a slight whine, and a bit more fragile sounding than his usual speech.

“You aren’t bad, you never were bad.” Hal started as he picked the pacifier up again and offered it to Dirk. “You’re a good boy, I promise. The best boy, even. Even good little boys are stubborn at times, Dirk, and that’s okay.”

Dirk hesitantly accepted the pacifier and put it in his mouth as he felt Hal pick him up. Despite knowing just how strong Hal was, he couldn’t help but feel a bit small at just how easily he was lifted up. 

“Let’s get some food in your system. I’m sure that will make you feel somewhat better.”

Hal carried Dirk over to the dining room and set him down in one of the chairs, patting him on the shoulder when he was done. Dirk looked up at him as Hal went to go get his food, whining a little. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt still, but it was a lot more willing to play along than earlier. He did feel a bit alone, though, without Hal directly at his side, but quickly dismissed that train of thought when he came back with a plate of food and a small glass of orange juice.

“Be careful, the chicken nuggets are still hot. Have some vegetables while they cool off.”

Dirk looked at the plate, then back up at Hal. He wasn’t complaining, he’d just rather be going out to eat instead.

“Dirk, if you eat your greens, you can have dessert. And you want dessert, don’t you?”

Dirk nodded his head, and Hal happily took the pacifier out and put a forkful of broccoli in Dirk’s mouth, to Dirk’s disgust. 

“Just like that. See? It isn’t so bad.” Hal assured as he smirked at Dirk’s expression as he chewed. It was dramatic just how bad he was making it out to be, but Hal didn’t mind Dirk making subtle faces as he fed him, he found it downright adorable. It wasn’t even too long before he was done with his greens and Hal was congratulating him.

“Good job, Dirk.” Hal said with an abnormally sincere tone as he stood up and gave him a little pat on the head. “Eat the rest of your plate while I bring Dave his dinner, alright?”

Dirk nodded, taking a sip of juice. God, he hated the taste in his mouth, but at least it was over with, plus he would admit, he was a little excited for dessert.

He found himself feeling a lonely feeling again without Hal, but he tried to ignore it and focus on more important things, like the rest of his dinner, or the uncomfortable heaviness in his bladder. He hadn’t gone to the bathroom all day, and Hal refilling his cup for him, plus the juice box earlier wasn’t helping. It wasn’t as noticable earlier when he was laying down, but now being upright he could tell that he should head to a toilet soon. But soon wasn’t now, and he wanted to be good for Hal and finish off his meal. It felt so rewarding to be a good boy for someone, to be treated so nicely and gently, and getting praise from Hal was more important than a potty break.

It felt like forever while he squirmed and tried to finish everything quickly enough before he heard Hal’s footsteps coming back.

“Oh, hey. Nice to see you up, man.” 

Dirk flinched. That was not Hal’s voice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cant figure out how to edit font color so just imagine (TT) is hal while I figure it out  
> edit: I give up at this point it's 1 am  
> edit....2!: ok apparently all i needed was a nap bc i figured it out

Dirk slowly turned around to find Dave standing behind him, lifting a questioning brow.

“You good? You look nervous as fuck.” Dave asked, sipping on the straw of an apple juice box. “Like, for real, Hal been keeping you hostage or some shit down here? Blink twice if you need help.” 

Dave smirked at his own joke before going to the kitchen and swiftly coming back with more food.

“Dude this mac ‘n cheese kicks ass, you really need to try it.”

“It’s good.” Dirk said, shrugging, trying not to act conspicuous.

“So how’s your day been? Hal told me to leave you guys alone today since you were gonna do some destress exercise or whatever but that just sounds lame as fuck.”

Dirk shrugged again, finishing off his orange juice.

“What is that, juice? What, laying off the soda or some-”

“Hal got it for me.” Dirk interrupted with a bit of impatience to his tone. He wasn’t quite sure what to do and he really wanted Hal to come back.

“Wow, damn, don’t get all snappy on me. Just tryna make conversation is all.”

Dave sat at the table across from Dirk, eating and making small talk, eyeing Dirk’s subtle movements. He could tell he seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but didn’t want to push anything. If anything, it just seemed like maybe he was trying to get comfortable.

Dirk however was far from even being close to comfortable. He still hadn’t showered yet, had to pee, and was forced to make awkward small talk with his younger brother who was looking at him suspiciously, all while he was still in limbo of actually being in littlespace and feeling like an adult.

“Hal’s been kinda pampering us lately n’ shit. Like, making’ dinner every night, cleaning up after us, he even offered to comb my hair for me this weekend, haha.”

Dave continued eating and talking about nothing in particular before actually speaking up.

“Are you okay, though? Seriously, you look anxious as hell and you haven’t really been talking.’

“I-uh…”

The pressure had just gotten so bad that it was messing with him and making him slip up while talking. Dirk tensed himself up, squeezing his thighs together and avoiding crossing his legs. Couldn’t Dave just end the conversation already? He needed to go so bad that you don’t know if you could hold it for another five minutes of talking about nothing.

“I’m fine I just-”

Dirk felt a little leak as he said that, panicking and forgetting what he was saying. The leak was far from unnoticeable, and left a small spot on the crotch of his jeans. He tried to keep his cool, acting like he was just trying to think of something while he was talking, but the trickle was difficult to stop.  
“Oh, Dave, you came down for seconds?”

Thank fucking Christ, Hal came back. Dirk took the moment Dave was distracted to sneak off to the bathroom, practically unnoticed as Hal kept his conversation with Dave going. 

As soon as he locked the door he fumbled with his belts and buttons, leaking a little more, but just barely making it. Thank God for black jeans. That was possibly the most stressful ten minutes of his life, but at the very least came sweet, sweet relief. The only issue, he found, was that his boxers were incredibly damp and that he’d probably have to change out of them soon if he didn’t want to smell like piss. He looked gross.

His attention shifted at the sight of a notification, and his nervousness returned. He was relieved and embarrassed at the same time that it was Hal.

**timaeusTestified** _began pestering_ **timaeusTestified** _at 19:26_

TT: It seems as though you’ve absconded from the table.

TT: I applaud you for being able to slip away without bringing any attention to yourself.

TT: Though, I do have to wonder why in the world you would wait until you were leaking to do anything about your bladder.

TT: You could tell?

TT: Affirmative.

TT: Mostly because I can see you looking at yourself in the mirror.

TT: You installed a camera into your shades, remember?

TT: Yeah...

TT: I’ll come help you in a moment. Go potty if you haven’t already.

TT: Don’t call it that.

TT: And I already did.

TT: That’s a very good job you did there. I’ll get you a sticker for trying.

TT: You’re being mean.

TT: I’m being sincere, Dirk. Don’t get too pouty just because it’s late, I would hate to have to put you to sleep early.

TT: You can’t make me go to bed.

TT: Dirk. This is a warning.

TT: Stop acting pouty and defiant just because you want to by the time I come to get you, or your bedtime is 8:30 tonight

TT: I’m not being pouty.

TT: Dirk.

TT: Hal.

TT: Don’t you mean “big bro”?

TT: Your bedtime is 9:30 as is tonight. Don’t you want some time to play instead of having to go to bed early?

TT: ...

TT: That’s what I thought.

TT: Stay there and take off your soiled clothing for me, alright? It’s better than staying in wet clothes.

TT: Fine.

**timaeusTestified** _ceased pestering_ **timaeusTestified** _at 19:39_

It wasn’t long before Hal came in to find Dirk sitting on the toilet with his cold, damp pants still on.

“You didn’t do what I asked, Dirk.”

Dirk flushed and crossed his arms, not making eye contact with Hal. 

“I don’t like it.” He stated.

“What don’t you like? My directions?”

Dirk grumbled at that, shifting around and trying to avoid the question.

“Dirk. Answer me.”

“I don’t like bein’ naked,” He admitted.

Hal sighed and took Dirk’s hand without further question. 

“That’s alright, let’s just get you to your room so we can change you into your pajamas.”

Dirk nodded, still looking at the floor. He took Hal’s hand and followed him up the stairs to his room, and tapped on his metal wrist to grab his attention once they were outside his room.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not. I know how you get about your body. I’ll be sure to be quick when I’m changing you.”

Hal opened the door to what was a surprisingly clean room to Dirk, with his stuffed animals and some fresh clothes on the bed. To Dirk’s embarrassment, there was a selection of his padding out as well.

“I cleaned your room for you so you can focus on playing rather than your chores. I’m doing laundry this weekend as well. Speaking of, I think someone needs to be cleaned up,” Hal said as he closed the door and guided Dirk towards the bed. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I put out a few based on absorbance levels and comfort. I know comfort is important, but I do suggest one of the options that are less likely to leak, but I won’t stop you if you wanted to wear your pull-ups instead.”

Dirk stood, with an uncomfortable look on his face, shifting in place a bit.

“Would you rather wear your ‘big kid’ undergarments?” Hal asked, noticing the apprehension he had.

Dirk shrugged. He didn’t know what he wanted anymore other than to watch his show and play with his favorite toys, maybe his pacifier, too. The past few minutes were a little overwhelming and he didn’t want to even try to make any decisions, it just stressed him out more. He had already given up control and he wanted Hal to keep it.

“Well, I believe it’s best to make sure you’re well padded up. It’s better to reduce your chances of having an accident. I’ll choose out your outfit then, as well. I think you’ll look cute in these pajamas. Well, at least it’ll keep you warm.”

Dirk let Hal undress him, closing his eyes when Hal told him to, and only fussing a little as Hal took his sweet time changing him. Having someone else lift his shirt over his head was new to him, and soon enough he was in just an extra-thick diaper meant for heavy bedwetters, which he just so happened to be. He sat there, opening his eyes since he was getting impatient. Hal was trying to un-do the zipper on the footie pajamas, struggling a bit before finally getting it open. Dirk couldn’t quite tell what it was, but Hal was taking longer than usual to do everything.  
“You’re taking forever.” Dirk deadpanned.  
“Thank you. I know. The zipper was stuck.” Hal replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone.  
“Hurry up, I’m _cold_!”

Hal sighed a very fake sigh, helping Dirk into his footies. It was a bit of a struggle, but he smiled when he was done, cooing at the little cutie in front of him. He couldn’t help but pick him up by his armpits and lift him up.  
“Why, you look just adorable. Just the epitome of cute, if cuteness were a contest, you’d win some sort of bullshit award and go above first place. Negative first place levels of utter fuckin precious.”

Hal’s antics actually made Dirk crack a smile, giving a little giggle at his overly convoluted way of telling him he looked cute. He found it a bit awkward to stand and keep his legs together when Hal put him back on the ground.  
“There’s that lovely little smile. Do you want to watch something before bedtime? I’ll let you stay up late if you want to watch a movie.”  
Dirk nodded and grabbed one of his plushies and sat on the floor in front of the television, not even bothering with a chair. He did, however, move to Hal’s lap as soon as he sat down, getting comfortable as Hal put on some show about horses. He didn’t resist or complain when Hal put his pacifier in his mouth this time, he simply let himself nurse on it. He could definitely get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the first three chapters all in the same day but I promise there's more to come


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao only took me a whole ass month- more explanation @ the end

Hal sighed when Dirk showed no sign of getting sleepy, and no matter how many times he got Dirk another snack or a drink, he never seemed to be satisfied. Dirk was definitely a little more demanding than he expected, and wanted every last bit of Hal’s attention dedicated to him. Nothing seemed to be working and he was getting impatient. 

“Dirk, I think it’s time to say goodnight-”

“But Hal…” Dirk whined, not even waiting for Hal to finish what he was saying, “what about the horses!”

Dirk had been watching the same show for a while now, mostly because it was the first thing he wanted to watch that wasn’t my little pony. He already was invested enough in this, and if he was allowed to watch his favorite show, there would be no getting him to sleep.

“Dirk-” He started, “I need to charge soon and you need to go to bed.”

“But horsies!” Dirk protested, a little surprised at himself at the way he said it, not thinking before he spoke.

“Dirk, horsies can wait until tomorrow, alright?”

“Haaaaal!” He whined. There wasn’t even an argument given, but he figured if he complained enough, he’d get his way. He always got his way.

“You can finish this episode, but after that you have to go to bed.” Hal told him sternly. “I can and will buy railings for your bed if this is going to be an issue.”

Dirk pouted, crossing his arms and looking up at Hal. “I’m a big boy! I don’t need bedtimes!”

Hal gave him an unamused look. “Do big boys act like little bratty princes, Dirk?”

Dirk stuck his tongue out at that, with an annoyed look on his face and crossing his arms around the rainbow dash plushie in his arms.

“It seems as though someone is being a huge grump and needs to go to bed right this instant. Let’s get you a bottle and maybe then you’ll calm down.” Hal said, picking him up and starting to carry him down the hall.

“Noooooo-” He whined, not caring if he was being loud or not. “I don’t wanna!”

Hal rolled his eyes at Dirk’s complaints, quietly shushing him and ignoring his kicking as they made their way downstairs. Hal was as groggy as a machine could get, and as much as he loved spending time with Dirk, he just wanted to get this over with and call it a day.

“Dirk. Buddy. You have to go to bed. Staying up and acting like this is not an option,” Yet he continued to whine and grumble and pout, making a fuss until Hal set him down on the couch downstairs. “Stay here. I’m just going to- Hey. You can let go now.”

Dirk was holding onto Hal’s shirt with an iron grip, and gave him an indignant yet needy look. He wasn’t staying anywhere that wasn’t right next to Hal.

“No.”

“Dirk-”

“No!”

Hal was surprised at how much that sounded less like a whine and more like a plea to stay, taking a moment to actually consider the fact that maybe Dirk just didn’t want to be left alone. With a sigh, he took Dirk’s hand.

“Fine, you can come with me. I’m only heating up a bottle of milk for you, you know,” Hal proceeded to take out said bottle from his sylladex, giving a knowingly smug smile. “Found it in your room.”

Dirk followed Hal as he went to the kitchen and watched him prepare his “meal”, staying close by the other’s side. His focus shifted from the microwave to Hal’s face, adorned with a tired look. He knew he sort of always had a resting bitch face, but seeing it made him feel a little bad nonetheless.

“Alright, come on now,” Hal said. Maybe it was the tone of his voice, but Dirk couldn’t help but feel a twinge in his heart, and that Hal was upset with him. He did as he was told, though, and walked beside Hal, tripping over himself a few times in the process. Being held was probably in his best interest, but he didn’t want to bother Hal with something that wasn’t important. Hal was probably tired of him already, he was being bad and ungrateful and-

“Dirk?” 

He snapped out of his own thoughts, looking to Hal when he said his name.

“Hey, now, bud, what’s up? Did you have an accident?”

Dirk simply shook his head and let go of Hal’s hand. 

“Tired?”

Dirk took a moment before nodding, even if it wasn’t entirely the truth. It only took a few seconds for Hal to pick him up to carry him, placing a little kiss on his forehead. 

“There you go, sleepyhead.”

The little peck soothed Dirk’s thoughts in the moment, making him smile and feel giddy inside.

“There’s that smile!” Hal said with a grin of his own to match. Tonight has probably been the most Dirk’s seen Hal smile in one afternoon, and that gave him some sort of feeling of happiness, seeing him so visibly happy. He leaned up against Hal as they made their way back up to Dirk’s room, and only perked up when Hal stopped in front of the bathroom.

“Do you have to go to the bathroom?” Hal asked, looking to Dirk. Admittedly, Dirk had been drinking a lot, and he had to go a bit, but he didn’t want to sacrifice how comfortable he was with Hal. He shook his head, figuring that it wasn’t  _ that  _ bad. Hal continued up the stairs to the second floor, carrying Dirk, who was swinging his feet back and forth and had not-so subtly put his thumb in his mouth.

Dirk was starting to calm down a bit when they got to his room, much less rowdy and his movements more slow and clumsy. It felt relieving to just let things happen to him rather than trying to be in control of everything always, and even just being cradled in Hal’s arms made him feel secure in a way. Not even a grumble of protest as the bottle was put to his mouth; soon enough, he was nursing it like it was second nature. It was warm and soothing- as though it was a natural sedative in a way- and the way Hal was looking down at him with a genuine smile of adoration only made him feel more content and peaceful. Dirk’s eyelids grew heavy as he drank, but he could have sworn he heard Hal play a small lullaby as he drifted off peacefully to sleep.

Tucking him in, Hal gave him one last wish goodnight, turning off the lights and closing the door behind him. His baby boy was off in dream land, and could only hope that he’d be able to play with him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO. basically I've written this chapter 3 different times but i wasnt satisfied with any of them so i decided to split it into 2 different chapters, the other which ive already started on, thank yall for your patience w meeeee


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry 4 the w8 also catch me on twt my @ is rottietits

Hal exited Dirk’s room with a sigh. He had next to no clue as to what he was doing, and he could tell by Dirk’s state throughout the day that he had some room for improvement, even if at the end of the day he seemed happy. He hoped Dave was awake so he could chat with him and get his mind off of it; the last thing he needed was to second guess himself when he was already tired.

**_timaeusTestified_ ** _ began pestering  _ **_turntechGodhead_ ** _ at 23:46 _

TT: Are you awake?

TG: no im fast asleep snoozing like a goddamn baby

TG: that was sarcasm hell yeah of course im awake

TG: i dont know why you and dirk insist on texting each other when were in the same house

TG: if you wanna hang just walk your ass over to my room we can play mario party or whatever

**_turntechGodhead_ ** _ ceased pestering  _ **_timaeusTestified_ ** _ at 23:48 _

Hal sighed, heading over to Dave’s room. He opened the door to find Dave on the floor, tapping away at his controller, nodding at Hal as a greeting. 

“Sup.”

“Sup.”

It was par for the course for Dave to be quiet, especially when he’s focusing. Hal sat down next to him to watch him play his games, analyzing every move he made in-game. 

“Wanna play? I was about to turn it off and call it a night, but I’m down for a bit more if you wanna.”

Hal shrugged. “I think I’m fine, thank you. Just wanted to make conversation is all.”

Dave raised an eyebrow. “That’s a new one. Usually you just make up excuses to kick my ass at any and every game imaginable,” He picked up his drink from the ground, taking a sip. “You look exhausted. Is that normal? For robots, I mean.”

“I’m on low charge. You seem oddly concerned about me.” Hal said, looking over to him.

“Just paying back the favor. You’ve been concerned about me ‘n’ Dirk all week, after all.” Dave paused his game to turn to his bro. “Speakin’ of, what’s with that? Like, I’m grateful, just more confused than a… actually fuck it, I can’t come up with anything good. Back to what I was saying- Why?”

Hal gave him a glance and shook his head. “You and Dirk really cannot get it through your heads that someone would willingly take care of you,” He said with a sigh. “Though, in all honesty, it was mostly to get Dirk more acquainted with the concept of me pampering him a bit. You know, letting him relax and doing things for him.”

“Are you going where I think you’re going with this?” Dave asked. “Like, I’m not exactly well-versed in that shit, but this sounds a lot like you’re planning to baby him or whatever.”

“Planning? Dave, I told you we would be doing something today so I could help him de-stress.” 

Dave gave Hal a disbelieving look. “Today?”

“Yes, today.”

“You should have been more specific then, I would have been a lot less of a dickhead to him at the table, then.” 

Dave had known for a while about Dirk’s tendencies to regress while he was by himself, although he never brought it up. He simply kept to his own business, and only ever brought it up with Hal when he was concerned about Dirk’s wellbeing. It wasn’t exactly something he’d even consider normally, but the past few weeks he had found himself looking up more and more on topics he thought were relevant- ABDL, age regression, he even looked up sites with little gear on it. He wanted to understand, and part of that meant constantly needing to clear his search history. It was entirely alien as a concept to him, especially for Dirk of all people, but he couldn’t say with certainty that it didn’t at the very least intrigue him.

“Plus, I never would’ve guessed considering you left him all a-fucking-lone. Dude would’ve been lonely without you.”

“He’s old enough to handle himself for ten minutes.”

Dave sighed, holding his head in his hands. “Dude. Hal. You literally have access to limitless knowledge and I somehow know better than you with this. That is not how you go about this sort of thing.”

“Since when did you become an expert?”

“Uh, past couple of weeks, thanks. You make it sound like I know every little bit about it.” 

Hal crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at Dave. 

“I’d say Dirk enjoyed tonight, what advice are you of all people going to try to give me?”

“Well first of all, don’t just leave him all alone unsupervised- It’s not just ‘oh he's acting like a baby’ you have to treat him like he really is a baby. Because that’s what he is like that. And I don’t know how he acts when he’s little, but I can assure you that someone as clingy as him when he’s older is probably going to not be fine all alone.”

“Looks like someone’s been spending a lot of time on those forums.” Hal said with a smirk. He genuinely did consider the advice, but teasing his little brother was always a treat. 

Dave rolled his eyes, picking up his phone. “What, have you been too scared to even even check? ‘Cause I know you could scan every one of those things in like 3 seconds tops.”

“Are you actually going to lecture me about this?”

“At least a little,” Dave said. “Dude, if anything, I’m gonna be the most fucking careful I can about this since he actually seems to have a coping mechanism that isn’t completely fuckin’ detrimental to himself.” 

“Well, I’m also trying to be careful- Hey, don’t give me that look, I am!” Hal replied, looking unamused at Dave’s face that told him he wasn’t believing any of it. “I know I’m not some connoisseur, but it’s better than nothing. And unless you want to sign up to change his diapers, I think I’m fine looking after him. Though, I’m sure you’d rather be in the position of being looked after yourself.”

Dave’s face flushed, and had to do a double take to make sure he heard Hal right. Judging by the smug look on his face, he absolutely did.

“I didn’t know you said exclusively dumb shit when you’re tired. Go the fuck to sleep already.”

“Dave, just clearing your history doesn’t make it so I can’t see what you’re looking up.” Hal said, grinning, knowing he caught Dave red handed. “You know, it’s one thing to look things up to be supportive of your little brother, but I don’t think you were looking up all those toys and clothes for him, now were you?”

“Creep.”

“It’s alright, Davey, you don’t have to be embarrassed-” Hal cooed in a condescending manner, not shying away from baby-talking Dave just to tease him.

“Hal, you’re getting on my nerves,” Dave grumbled.

“You’re just grumpy because I’m right, and I don’t even have to pull some bullshit statistic out of my ass to prove that.”

Dave sighed,setting everything down and standing up, taking Hal by the hand and dragging him up to his feet.

“You’re going to bed.”

Hal laughed, especially at the indignant tone of voice Dave had, and the fact he was practically dragging him down the hall past Dirk’s room. It was funny to him how Dave insisted on plugging in Hal’s wires for him, as if he was trying to prove some sort of point. He even sat down next to the bed to make sure Hal went into sleep mode and didn’t just spend the whole night dicking around doing whatever when he should be resting.

“Thanks for being a little helper, Dave.”

“I’d say you’re welcome if you weren’t being a condescending dick about it. Now go to bed, I’m not leaving until you do.”

“Aw, does someone not want to leave his big brother?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Nah.”

“Go to bed, asshole.”

“Nope.”

Dave crossed his arms and simply sat there, waiting.

And waiting.

Waiting.

Wait… Was Dave snoring? When Hal looked over to him, he was definitely snoring, fast asleep on the floor. He could deal with him in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

The morning sun filled the bedroom as a quiet Dirk began to stir in the mess of blankets that was his bed. Groggy and still wanting to go back to bed, he turned over and felt a noticeable squishy wetness in between his legs. He grumbled to himself. This was far from the first time he’d wet in his sleep, but it was still something he’d go without.

He sat up in his bed to go change into something less gross when he noticed a dull pain in his abdomen. Jesus, he already had to go to the bathroom? He just woke up! Usually he was alright for awhile if he wet during the night, but he guessed it was  _ technically _ possible. He reached down for the zipper to get himself out of his pajamas, but to no avail. Goddamn zipper getting in the way of things. He shrugged. Hal put him in something thick, plus he couldn’t have gone that much overnight if he still had to go. 

He sighed as he relieved his bladder, letting his pacifier fall onto his pillow. The spreading warmth and the tell-tale hissing was always a welcome sensation to Dirk. It actually made him feel quite nice, being able to go no matter what he was doing, and the swelling was a nice touch, making him well aware of his own ‘accident’. Feeling the swelling of his padding through his pajamas, he gave it a little squish, but immediately cringed when he felt a slight leak down his thigh.

“Ew…” He muttered. He needed a change, and badly. He could easily do it himself, sure, though would it really hurt to have Hal do it for him again? He was just a big baby, after all, and big babies need someone to look after them.

He rubbed his eyes as he looked around. There were empty juice boxes all over his nightstand, and his clock said it was 9 o’ clock sharp. Surprisingly early for him to wake up on his own. Hal usually woke him up around this time, so he rationalized that it must be his internal clock trying to grasp at something to cling onto. He hoped Hal would come soon.

Minutes went by with mindless playing and watching TV, and still no Hal. Screw it, he was just calling him. However, when he went to go get his phone, Dirk found that he couldn’t find it, no matter where he looked. Not on the bed, the dresser, the nightstand; it wasn’t even under the bed. He sighed, pouting a bit as he figured he’d just go get Hal himself.

Dirk peeked out of his room, looking both ways down the hall. Usually, Hal was the first one awake in the mornings, and if he wasn’t up to wake him up, Dave was probably still asleep too. Sneaking down the hall, Dirk tried his best to stay quiet, but found that having an over-full diaper that leaks whenever it’s pressed the wrong way makes for a rather uncomfortably damp experience. He practically was waddling to try to avoid the feeling of the cold and sagging padding against him, and by the time he actually reached Hal’s door, he considered just outright asking him for a change rather than whatever bullshit beating around the bush he had planned.

Slowly opening the door, he peeked in.

“Hal, I-”

Instead of the usual pair of crimson eyes staring back at him, it was Dave, sitting on the floor next to Hal’s bed, face illuminated by his phone.

For a while, they simply started at each other, both trading looks of surprise, unsure what to do. The awkward silence lingered for what felt like minutes on end to the both of them, before Dave spoke up.

“You alright?”

Dirk snapped back to reality after a moment of pure anxiety and almost delving too deep into his own thoughts to remember he still had control of the situation. Dave obviously didn’t see him as helpless, so he had to act like the big boy he was.

“Yeah,” was all he could manage, freezing up a bit when he noticed Dave looking down at the sizable wet spot on his pajamas. Sure, he could just say the footies were ironic, or maybe just comfortable, but he braced himself for whatever stinging comment Dave decided to make.

“Hal’s still asleep, do you uh… need… help…?”

Dave’s voice trailed off when the gears started turning in his head and he put two and two together, remembering everything he and Hal talked about last night.

Dirk struggled to speak up, even if he barely showed it in his face that he was nervous that Dave would start berating him any second. Actually, he found that he couldn’t speak at all before Dave already started to un-do Hal’s wires for him. When Hal rose up from his bed, that was the moment Dirk had immense second thoughts about everything, slowly backing out while Dave was paying too much attention to the other to notice.

“Dirk?”

Too late, Hal had already noticed him. Even in his somewhat hazy state, he could tell that something was wrong. 

“What’s up?” he asked, moving the blankets aside to get up and see for himself. Upon further inspection, he noticed the huge wet elephant in the room, and quickly went to usher Dirk back to his room. Dirk didn’t resist, and was fairly eager to get an excuse to get out of the situation. As soon as he was brought back to his room, Hal looked him over trying to assess the situation fully. He found that the sudden encounter in such an embarrassing position hadn’t ended in tears, thankfully, but Dirk was still in need of his big bro to help with changes, that was apparent enough.

“I can get you cleaned up, just lay down on the floor while I get everything, alright?”

Dirk did as Hal asked, watching as he went to go get some changing supplies and stopped midway.

“Dirk, do you want to be a big boy today, or do you want to keep playing?” Hal asked as he held up a pull-up in his hands.

“If I’m being honest, I just need your help with the zipper.” Dirk replied, despite the fact he did want to keep playing and cling to Hal all day, especially after embarrassing himself in front of Dave like that.

“Alright, do you still want me to get you out of that soggy diaper and dress you?”

Dirk nodded almost instantly, deciding that it was a good enough compromise between wanting to feel big and the comfort of Hal being his caregiver.

It took Hal a good minute or two of fiddling with the zipper to finally fix it and get Dirk out of his jammies. He tossed it into the hamper and looked back at Dirk, who, in all honesty, looked kind of pathetic sitting there in his wet diaper. The thing was completely soaked and swollen, and any print that was there before had long since faded away and been replaced by a noticeable amber hue. Dirk squirmed a bit, making Hal realize he was staring. He went to work on undoing the tapes and lifting Dirk up to slide it out from under him. He tossed it into Dirk’s trash can, and made a mental note to empty the bin soon so Dirk’s whole room didn’t smell like pissy diapers. He wiped Dirk down and left him on the floor so he could go get Dirk some new clothes. Noticing the pull-up on the floor, Dirk assumed that Hal wanted him to put it on and slid it on without complaint. When the other turned back around, though, he chuckled a little while holding a pair of boxers.

“It seems someone isn’t confident enough that he can stay dry.” He said with amusement. “Well, it’s better to admit that you might have an accident rather than to make a puddle somewhere. Let’s put your clothes on and get you some breakfast, alright? Do pancakes sound good?” 

Dirk nodded after Hal pulled the t-shirt over his head. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry. Do we still have eggs downstairs?”

“I believe we do. Do you want them scrambled?” Hal asked and he pulled up Dirk’s pants. 

m“Yeah, but I can make them myself.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Hal gave Dirk a smile as he got up and closed the door behind him, leaving Dirk to himself. He considered picking up the toys on the ground to play with them, but instead put them away where they belonged, humming a little tune to himself as he cleaned up. He was still anxious about what Dave thought, but he decided to keep himself occupied for a bit. Cleaning, making his bed, whatever helped him get his mind off of it he did. He found that by the time he was done, the smell of bacon was calling him down for lunch-breakfast. He knew he could just say brunch, but saying “brunch” out loud made him feel like a white suburban mom who watches HGTV.

As he headed down the stairs, he could hear a conversation.

“Well, I don’t just want to outright ask him! He should come to me about it if he wants to.”

“You know exactly how he is, Dave, I’d bet money on a dog getting into office.”

“Then maybe you can suggest something to him?”

“Like a playdate?”

“Hal, I told you- oh! Uh.. Hey Dirk.”

Both Hal and Dave turned to look at Dirk as he walked in, wondering just exactly how much of the conversation he heard.

“‘Mornin’,” Dirk said, making his way to sit down at the table. 

“Sup,”

“Howdy,”

Dave took a long sip of his drink as he sat there, seemingly waiting for someone else to pick up the conversation before he couldn’t find any more patience to spend.

“You eatin’ with us or what?”

“Hell yeah I am,” Dirk said, pulling aside a chair and sitting at the table.

And with that, it was back to awkward silence, but at the very least there was the sound of Hal cooking in the background to focus on instead. Dirk looked up at Dave, trying to read him. It didn’t exactly help that he had the same poker face as always, and looked right back down when he thought he saw Dave start to look up.

The day went on as usual, breakfast, TV, and thankfully no lectures for Dirk, so he had the whole day to himself. He ate his pancakes on the couch, watching some show and minding his business, when Dave came and sat next to him, drinking a juice box and fiddling with his phone.

“Whatcha watching?” 

“I think it’s a cooking show, I’m not paying that much attention.”

Dave nodded, thinking about what he was going to say next.

“Sorry if I was being a dick yesterday.” He said, deciding that was probably more important than whatever else he was going to say. “And uh. Sorry for catching you at a bad moment earlier. Heh, nice PJs, by the way.”

Dirk rolled his eyes at the obvious jab at his outfit choice, blushing a bit. 

“Dude, shut up, they’re comfy.”

“Chill, it’s not like I brought up your wet- ah, fuck!”

Dave smacked himself in the face as he realized what he just said, completely defeating the point of what he was saying.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t mean it in a rude way, I promise, I don’t judge you if you wear diapers or, like, play with toys and stuff, I just- Hey wait, don’t leave!”

“Leaving anyway.” Dirk said as he got up and left for his room, bringing his plate with him. 

Dave sat there and sighed. This was gonna be rough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> takin a quick break on this to work on some other projects and also because to world is kinda yknow. the way it is rn. so happy that you guys are enjoying this so far and i super appreciate every comment i get! love yall! xoxo -rottie


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